Raising voices for a cause
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By Kaveesha Fernando
Child survivors of sexual abuse are rarely discussed in society. Children are most often abused by people known to them, making the situation rather complex because sometimes they do not realize that they are being abused.
Furthermore, when a child speaks up, the best situation they can hope for is one in which they are kept in protective custody at a state run facility until the case closes – with no outside interaction, thus impeding their education and mental development. Most often, what happens to these children is far worse than this. Therefore, Joshua Asokan’s concert ‘Sing Gloria’ aims to raise awareness and funds for child survivors of sexual abuse.
Joshua
The funds raised from the concert will be directed towards Emerge Lanka and LEADS. Joshua has personally visited the centres and seen the work in progress. The focal point of the show will be a 20-minute-long piece by John Rutter, alongside the work of composers such as Craig Courtney, Bob Chilcott and Eric Whitacre. Most of the music being performed will be featured in Sri Lanka for the first time. Joshua 20, is taking on the task of conducting the concert – which will comprise of musicians and choristers who are both known to Joshua personally and show keen interest in the cause.
Having organized a concert before in 2014 for street kids, he feels that the most daunting part was to have the confidence and ability to convince people of his competence in organising and conducting the concert when he was only 18. Two years later, he still feels that getting sponsors and performers is quite a tough task because most of the conductors in Sri Lanka are much older .
The choristers feel the cause to which they’re lending their voices is an issue not widely known and they are hoping to break the silence and also agree that while it is a great experience to collaborate with their fellow choristers for the first time, it is the children who motivate them to rehearse difficult songs until they are pitch perfect.
RehanAlmeida, who is a lawyer, felt that the biggest issue is the fact that the existing laws and systems in place do not effectively help children who have been sexuallyabused because the system does not train officials to recognize certain key areas affecting the children, while laws are yet to be updated since the Victorian era. Srimanthaka Senanayake feels that this is a burning issue which needs to be highlighted in South Asian cultures where the norm is to ignore certain issues which are considered to be taboo. Vineshka Mendis felt that the number of children who have been sexually abused speaks volumes because very few get justice after waiting years for the verdict after deciding to speak up. Kumudini David re-iterated the fact that speaking up is the hardest thing to do as she herself only began talking about her experiences once she was in her twenties. The hope is that people will start taking initiatives themselves to support this cause just as they have.
“Sing Gloria!” will take place on July 30 at St Paul’s Church on Kynsey Road, 7 pm. Tickets priced at Rs 1000 may be reserved by calling 0769621811 or 0716014509.